Luis Valdez is credited with the origination of Chicano theatre with his works about the strikes of Mexican-American farm workers in Delano, California in 1965. He brought his works to those participating in the strikes. These works were to depict the events of the strike in a very simple form so that the strikers would see both the nature of the struggle but also the reasons to remain strong in the strike. The performers of these works were from El Teatro Campesino (the Farm Worker's Theatre), and these actors used improvised scenes, called actos, in which the events of the strike were portrayed in a somewhat comic light. Even the strikers would get involved in the actos, often to mock the white bosses that they were striking against. These actos allowed the strikers to build unity with each other.
Even after the strikes were settled, Teatro Campesino stayed connected with the United Farm Workers. Valdez and his associates identified several injustices in addition to those found by the union. These injustices inadequate schools and discrimination in jobs, housing, and the other benefits in society. Teatro Campesino began performing for a wider audience to attack these injustices, appearing in the barrios and on colleges campuses. These performances emphasized the message of social injustice and racial pride.
The actos depicted events and figures that were known to everyone who grew ip in the barrios, such as the conditions in the agricultural world of California. Campesino could modify some actos from the strike to form analogies with urban conditions, but usually new ones were developed to focus on specific urban problems. One of the most powerful of these brought attention to the systematic discrimination of the schools against Mexican Americans. Usually, these scenes would occur like this: a white teacher would enter a classroom filled with Mexican-American children. She would call roll and mispronounce all of the Mexican-American names. She would forbid the students from speaking Spanish, and she would throw racial slurs at the children. The children would leave the room in rebellion against these ill acts, and shout with pride for their culture.
In reaction with Teatro Campesino's example, many more tetras formed in California and the Southwest. Campesino would visit the other troupes to help them get started. The dramatic art of these productions was much less of a concern than the criticism of the injustices for Mexican-Americans. The actos form most of the performances for Teatro Chicano for its first five years. The characters in the actos were usually just whites and Mexican-Americans engaged in "significant" confrontations. The emphasis for these pieces resides in the presentation of issues in stark terms. The characters tended to display very few operative traits each as a consequence. They are either good or evil, and when they conflict at all, they do so only for convenience. Those who agreed the that the confrontation would produce social change would generally approve of the actos.
After a while, people began to wish for the actos to offer more. Valdez began experimenting with new types of dramatic action in 1972 that attempted to be more poetic than rhetoric. Through this experimentation, Zoot Suit was created. This play used music and sensitive dialogue to depict the event of the zoot suit riots during World War II. These plater plays did not use simplistic presentations of good versus evil, but rather revealed the anguish that Valdez and other Mexican-Americans felt.
Zoot Suit began a new era for Chicano Theatre. In contrast with the actos from the times of the strikes, this play required skilled actors and portrayed a more elaborate message. These groups began in a casual environment, then these actos formed into a Teatro, rehearsed a bit, then began performing. It did not matter that these performers were not highly skilled, but they frequently appeared to be a virtue. Some argued that the tetras are not to amuse or entertain, but to portray a forceful message. Others argued that the artistic standards must not be sacrificed for the cause. Zoot Suit used artistic elements and was still able to portray a powerful message, and it became the first play in Chicano Theatre to be performed on Broadway.
Even after the strikes were settled, Teatro Campesino stayed connected with the United Farm Workers. Valdez and his associates identified several injustices in addition to those found by the union. These injustices inadequate schools and discrimination in jobs, housing, and the other benefits in society. Teatro Campesino began performing for a wider audience to attack these injustices, appearing in the barrios and on colleges campuses. These performances emphasized the message of social injustice and racial pride.
The actos depicted events and figures that were known to everyone who grew ip in the barrios, such as the conditions in the agricultural world of California. Campesino could modify some actos from the strike to form analogies with urban conditions, but usually new ones were developed to focus on specific urban problems. One of the most powerful of these brought attention to the systematic discrimination of the schools against Mexican Americans. Usually, these scenes would occur like this: a white teacher would enter a classroom filled with Mexican-American children. She would call roll and mispronounce all of the Mexican-American names. She would forbid the students from speaking Spanish, and she would throw racial slurs at the children. The children would leave the room in rebellion against these ill acts, and shout with pride for their culture.
In reaction with Teatro Campesino's example, many more tetras formed in California and the Southwest. Campesino would visit the other troupes to help them get started. The dramatic art of these productions was much less of a concern than the criticism of the injustices for Mexican-Americans. The actos form most of the performances for Teatro Chicano for its first five years. The characters in the actos were usually just whites and Mexican-Americans engaged in "significant" confrontations. The emphasis for these pieces resides in the presentation of issues in stark terms. The characters tended to display very few operative traits each as a consequence. They are either good or evil, and when they conflict at all, they do so only for convenience. Those who agreed the that the confrontation would produce social change would generally approve of the actos.
After a while, people began to wish for the actos to offer more. Valdez began experimenting with new types of dramatic action in 1972 that attempted to be more poetic than rhetoric. Through this experimentation, Zoot Suit was created. This play used music and sensitive dialogue to depict the event of the zoot suit riots during World War II. These plater plays did not use simplistic presentations of good versus evil, but rather revealed the anguish that Valdez and other Mexican-Americans felt.
Zoot Suit began a new era for Chicano Theatre. In contrast with the actos from the times of the strikes, this play required skilled actors and portrayed a more elaborate message. These groups began in a casual environment, then these actos formed into a Teatro, rehearsed a bit, then began performing. It did not matter that these performers were not highly skilled, but they frequently appeared to be a virtue. Some argued that the tetras are not to amuse or entertain, but to portray a forceful message. Others argued that the artistic standards must not be sacrificed for the cause. Zoot Suit used artistic elements and was still able to portray a powerful message, and it became the first play in Chicano Theatre to be performed on Broadway.